Carved out by a massive bend in the Cumberland River, the Neely’s Bend neighborhood of Madison is a place that’s stood the test of time.

Many of the houses, which vary in size and value along Neely’s Bend Road, have lined the street for decades. And longtime residents will still use the phrase “upper Bend” or “lower Bend” to describe which part of the river-cut peninsula they’re referring to.

At the very end of the lower Bend, though, the neighborhood has undergone significant change in recent years. Since 2007, the city has added about 650 acres of park land and greenway along the river.

Former Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell invested funds in a master plan that turned 269 acres of unused open space into Peeler Park. Then Mayor Karl Dean and Metro Council purchased the old Taylor Farm for $2.7 million to add an adjoining 388 acres.

The result is a welcome change to a neighborhood that has mostly older residents but also includes an elementary school and a middle school off Neely’s Bend Road.

“This park is one of the best things to happen to this community,” said former Metro Councilman and longtime Neely’s Bend resident Jim Forkum, who was instrumental in the city’s purchase of Taylor Farm.

Forkum said a grand opening for the new Peeler Park is planned for July.

“It’s one of the most amazing places where you have the bend in the river and the Stones River flows into the Cumberland at the tip,” Forkum said.

Neely’s Bend is home to many longtime residents, some of them with ancestry dating to the original European settlers. William Neely arrived in the Nashville area with the James Robertson settlers. He was killed by Native Americans at the Larkin Springs salt lick area, Forkum said.

“It’s pretty amazing to be able to trace to the original settlers and still have families here who know the stories dating back to that time,” Forkum said.